Mom of four Sharyn Mackay, from Newcastle, Co Down, Northern Ireland, was told that she had a cancerous tumour that was so rare samples of it had to be tested by specialists in London, Glasgow and Harvard. (Independent)

Mrs Mackay's devastating news came in april 2004 when she was told that the cancer had affected her kidneys and lungs and that it would be terminal. Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph she said:

“They said it was spindle cell sarcoma which is normally a bone cancer. I was one of only 10 known cases where it had become a kidney tumour. The surgeon kept a watch on my kidney but in April 2004 he told me the cancer had rattled through my kidneys and lungs and I was a terminal case.”

Later scans to check on the cancers progress inexplicably showed that her tumours had disappeared. Doctors claimed that it was not down to anything they had done.

The Belfast mum attributes her recovery to the power of prayer, while medical experts say that her own immune system could have destroyed the tumour. Experts say that a study of Norwegian women showed that spontaneous remission may have occurred in 20 per cent of cases. (Belfast Telegraph)

Amazingly Mrs Mackay, writing in her journal the night before the scan wrote “Thank you God for healing me. I know I will get clear results tomorrow.”

Mrs Mackay’s amazing story is not the only good news story relating to cancer revealed this week.

Cancer Research UK released a statement on its website that thanks to earlier detection and improved treatment breast cancer death rates have fallen by a fifth in the last ten years.